To the rest of the world, Crazy Town were but one of many rap-rock one-hit wonders from the early ‘00s, their’s being the salacious, Red Hot Chili Peppers-sampling anthem “Butterfly”. However, to the fine townsfolk of Jacksonville, FL, one hit is all you need.
With a sweet refrain of “Come my lady, come come my lady”, the song has served as a rallying cry for Jacksonville’s weary and horny for nearly 25 years running, earning the Los Angeles-based band an unprecedented amount of Jacksonville-specific accolades, including a chocolate starfish on the Jacksonville Walk of Fame, statues of each band member on the front lawn of the capitol building, and their own dedicated wing in the Wet T-Shirt Museum & Educational Center.
Perhaps more impressive may be the 1,290 weeks “Butterfly” has spent at number #1 on the Jacksonville charts. While not entirely a sovereign nation, Jacksonville has fought hard as fuck for its freedom and has justly won the right to fully govern its own pop charts, as well as any Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. locations within county lines.
Insular and largely unexplored by the rest of the world, the ranking system measures songs based on more intangible metrics such as “fuckability”, “getting fucked-upability”, and “fuuuuuck yeah”. Needless to say, Crazy Town are The Beatles of “fuuuuuuck yeah”.
Beanis from “Beanis In the Morning” on 97.8 The Jack believes ultimately the song’s true staying power is its message. But when we asked him what he thought the message was, he was already firing up the grill and tossing us Bud Light Lime-A-Ritas. It was a pretty cool time.
However, with the tragic passing of frontman Shifty Shellshock this past year, commonly referred to as “Jacksonville’s 9/11”, this tight-knit community has been left to pick up the pieces, one tailgate at a time. A scholarship fund has been founded in Shifty’s name at DeVry University (White Palms Mall location only), and there’s even been talk of a Crazy Town reunion show. Per local sources, noted Jacksonville scientist Matt is close to perfecting a hologram of the singer by using a complex series of laser pointers and a dope-ass chest piece of Shifty’s face that his friend Kyle got.
With technology on their side and a booming belly button jewelry economy, Jacksonville remains a beacon of hope in an ugly, modern world where “Butterfly” is only played at strip clubs or from a construction worker’s portable JBL speaker. Maybe we could all learn something from this Crazy Town they call Jacksonville.